Necco

Necco

Type	Private company
Industry	Confectionery
Predecessor	Chase and Company, Ball and Fobes, Bird, Wright and Company
Founded	1901
Headquarters	Revere, Massachusetts, USA
Products	Necco Wafers, Sweethearts, Clark Bar and Haviland Thin Mints, among others
Owner	American Capital
Number of employees	483 (as of March 2011)
Website	http://www.necco.com/

Necco (or NECCO), pronounced "neck-o", is the acronym for the New England Confectionery Company, a manufacturer of candy. It was created in 1901, by the merger of several small confectionery companies located in the Greater Boston area; since December 2007, Necco has been owned by American Capital.

The company, considered the "oldest continuously operating candy company in the United States," is best known for its namesake candy, Necco Wafers, its seasonal Sweethearts Conversation Hearts, and brands such as the Clark Bar and Haviland Thin Mints. In fall 2010, Necco produced its one trillionth Necco Wafer candy.

Necco dates its origins to Chase and Company, a company founded by brothers Oliver R. and Silas Edwin Chase in 1847. Having previously invented and patented the first American candy machine, the Chase brothers continued to design and create machinery that made assortments of candies, such as their popular sugar wafers.

Two other confectionery companies, Ball and Fobes, founded by confectioner Daniel Fobes in 1848, and Bird, Wright and Company, a confectionery company based in Boston and founded in 1856, joined forces with Chase and Company in 1901 to become the three members of the original Necco family. The three confectionery firms then moved into a newly constructed manufacturing plant in the Fort Point/South Boston Waterfront area of Boston, Massachusetts one year later and became the largest establishment devoted entirely to confectionery production in the United States.

The Boston Wharf Company developed the 1902 complex of four five-story buildings at 253 Summer Street and 11-37 Melcher Street. BWC named the adjacent streets Necco Court, Necco Street, and Necco Place. In 1907, 5 and 6 Necco Court were added behind the existing complex, connected by a four-story interior bridge. With nearby rail and water transportation, BWC specialized in shipment and storage of sugar and molasses. The Domino Sugar factory was also located nearby.